the good, the bad, the deeply lamentable

So here we are, two days into the new teaching year.

I have a wonderful class schedule. This semester, I have Writer’s Craft and TWO sections of Grade 10 Applied. I have wanted to have a greater chunk of the applied kids for a while. And it will balance out the marking load of writer’s craft.

So far, the WC class has 16 students in it- absolutely ideal. Half of them are students I taught in Grade 11 last year, and these known quantities are warm, and funny, and funky and learned to play with language last year. The remaining half are feeling shy and tentative, but are sweet, and seem happy to try these strange new things. I have a lot of hope for this class. I think we could go far.

The 2p’s are bumpy, as always, but I don’t have anyone who seems particularly oppositional. Thug Quotient = 0. Should be an easier ride than I’ve had in the past.

And this despite a new challenge for me.  I was told on the day before classes started that I would have a student with asperger’s syndrome. He’s being gradually introduced into a mainstream setting. Last semester at my school was his first successful term in a mainstream setting. I took a deep breath when I was told, but knew that I could rally to the cause. There are other external factors that make working with this student a particular challenge, but I won’t  go into those details here. I do feel sufficiently equipped to deal with those issues, especially since I have learned so much in these past two years about setting appropriate personal boundaries, and how to protect myself from all kinds of crazy.

I had 3 conversations about this student before I started teaching him. Again, this is the day before classes began. The first conversation was with a teacher who had taught him last year. He gave me the most useful information. He was reassuring, encouraging. He told me that the student in question loved the clicker technology that this teacher and I had both been piloting last semester, so that was exciting. He also told me that I would have to sign a lot of forms in regards to this student. (I have yet to be presented with any kind of form) He told me that this student can get violent as a response to his feelings of anxiety. He has thrown things at teachers before. This teacher was surprised that I had not been appraised of the situation earlier. He also told me that he sits by the door and has his own hall pass, and that he knows that if he gets overly anxious, he can manage it by leaving class and taking a walk. This was completely reassuring. I wish I had that kind of pass. He also has two Educational Assistants assigned especially to him. At this, my eyes brightened. This might work!

The second conversation was with the administrator who is the liason between student, parent, and all those concerned for this student. She showed me his “OSR” file- that’s the Ontario Student Record- you know that file that people use to threaten you with. Seriously folks, after high school, it’s gone. Shredsville.

But I have never seen an OSR this thick. Most are about an inch thick upon graduation from high school. This kid’s was a good 4 inches thick  with 1 year of high school equivalency under his belt. Again, I breathed, in and out. This administrator also told me that this student has particular trigger words that set him off. The first trigger was a phrase that I use often. In fact, it’s one I often use deliberately as a pedagogical strategy. Again, for anonymity’s sake, I’m not going to say the phrase here. But most of  this student’s triggers relate to anxiety, and the feeling of lack of control. He believes that teachers should provide certainty, and if they express uncertainty, it causes him great anxiety. When I realized that this was at the root of this student’s anxiety, I understood immediately. On some levels, he’s no different from any student I’ve ever had. She also said that any instruction I gave, I should repeat and mention his name specifically. He has difficulty generalizing the abstract instruction to be referring to him specifically.

I spent some time in the office, reviewing this OSR. I was particularly interested in learning anything I could about what kinds of teaching strategies would be useful to help him. Or if there were any other triggers I should try to avoid. One of the things I learned was that he really loves maps. So do I. And I immediately thought about the Altas of Experience. I wondered if that might be a comfortable way for him to engage idoms associated with emotion. I have a bunch of large, great quality reproductions of pages from this books, so I tacked one up by his desk. But I worried about the other map I have on my wall. What kind of effect would that  kind of conceptual disruption have on this student?

As I was reviewing the OSR, another adminstrator crossed my path. “Oh, don’t look at the OSR!” she said. I blinked at her. “It will be fine!” This admin is new to our school and really doesn’t know me from Adam, as far as I know. “You should have seen  my OSR!” she nudged. “It was just as thick! For behavioural issues!” I think – I think- I understood where she was coming from. I assume she meant- “don’t be prejudiced against a kid just because he’s got a thick OSR.”  I let it go- cause she doesn’t know me. All the same. I wished she had instead asked me how I was feeling about the situation, and if there was anything she could do to support me.

Finally, the first day came.